The invention relates to an air supply shutter for ventilating closed buildings, comprising a frame provided with an air vent, which is defined by an upper frame profile, a lower frame profile, two lateral frame profiles which join the upper and lower frame profiles to each other, a shutter flap which is pivotably mounted on the frame about a horizontal axis such that it closes the air vent when in the closed position and releases the air vent when in the open position, and a coupling device for coupling the shutter flap to an actuating device by means of which the shutter flap can be moved from the open position into the closed position and/or vice versa. The invention also relates to a modular kit for such an air supply shutter.
Air supply shutters of the aforementioned kind are used, in particular, for ventilating livestock buildings. To this end, the air supply shutters may be wholly or partially used as supporting or non-supporting elements in a wall opening, thus allowing controlled opening and closing of such a wall opening.
In particular when such air supply valves for livestock buildings are used for sensitive livestock, the air supply shutters must meet high standards in respect of their air supply and sealing characteristics. It is desirable, on the one hand, for example, that the passage of air from the air supply shutter into the stable be designed in such a way that a stream of air directed to the ceiling area of the livestock building is obtained, and that this stream of air reaches the floor area after ventilating almost the entire enclosed space due to eddy formation. It is known to arrange air guiding flaps on such air supply shutters in order to achieve this desired guidance of airflow, but it is not possible to ensure with such air guiding flaps that the desired guidance of airflow is achieved with all shutter positions between the open and the closed shutter positions. A first object of the invention is to improve the guidance of airflow by such an air supply shutter.
Another problem with known air supply shutters consists in the fact that the intake air enters at high speeds, particular when the opening cross section is small. This often leads to unwanted airflow directed straight at the animals being kept on the floor of the building, which may cause diseases in the animals. Another object of the invention is to prevent such unwanted airflow in the region of small opening cross sections.
Another requirement that air supply shutters are expected to satisfy, particularly when they are being used in geographical regions with strong climatic variations, is reliable sealing in the closed state. Since air supply shutters are frequently disposed in dirty surroundings, and it is desirable to organize maintenance and cleaning intervals over the long term, this requirement in respect of sealing must also be met under adverse ambient conditions. Another object of the invention is to improve the imperviousness of known air supply shutters without increasing the sensitivity of the air supply shutter to dirt.
Finally, a general requirement to be met by air supply shutters of the kind initially described is that the mounting depth of the air supply shutter is as small as possible in order to prevent the air supply shutter from protruding inwards and/or outwards when mounted in thin walls, as a result of which increased contamination in the form of deposits can occur.